Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HHI - $300k
Student debt - $250k
Car debt and other debt -$50k
Retirement fund, IRAs and 401k balance- $170k
Monthly fixed expenses: $4k

How old are you and how much do you THINK you can afford given the stats you provided? Happy to answer your question and tell you my story if you share that info! I'm guessing I am about 10 years older than you.

Op here: we are 33 and 36. I think $750k mortgage should be OK. Please do share. TIA!

I think it depends on your earning potential and how quickly you plan to payoff cars and student loans.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HHI - $300k
Student debt - $250k
Car debt and other debt -$50k
Retirement fund, IRAs and 401k balance- $170k
Monthly fixed expenses: $4k

Why does everyone complicate this so much? There is a tried and tested 28/36 guideline on home affordability. Let’s just apply that….

Baseline PITI = 28% x (HHI/12) = $7K

With a 30 year mortgage at 7.25%, this works out to be a roughly $870K maximum mortgage, assuming $1000 per month for HOA, insurance, and property taxes.

Unfortunately, you have student loan debt and this must be subtracted from your mortgage allocation: $870K - $250K = $620K

Therefore, the largest mortgage you can afford to take is 30 year $620K @ 7.25%. Assuming you put 20% down, the maximum house you can afford is $620K / 80% = $775K with a $155K down payment.

This will stick you with a monthly PITI of just over $5K, leaving you with maybe $10K net per month to cover your car, student loans, and other expenses.

I think this is probably a decent estimate. Once OP and her husband make more money in a few years and the baby goes to kinder, they can buy a nicer house.

No, once that happens they start saving for retirement, funding 529s, put $ into savings, and finance a few kids activities like swim lessons. And they can put more money towards loans. And they will need to finance home repairs, buy furniture for their house, etc. Live within your means, save, wait 15 years and then figure out what you want.

agree with PP to consider a fed job. yes, less salary but you won't be spending $900/month on health insurance. and with PSLF in 10 years that student debt will be gone.

Why are you spending $200 a month on phones? Tracfone is $25/month for unlimited call/text and 3 gb data which rolls over. I was so happy I got rid of AT&T - no difference in quality and I save a ton.

I think given OPs responses this is a lost cause. She sounds financially illiterate and had an underemployed husband to boot. She took out outrageous loans and cannot event articulate her current expenses. Just another periods who will be crying about boomers next year and how UnFaIr oUr CaPitALiSt economy is.

Op, I posted earlier and hope you are still reading. A lot of these people don't realize that if you can find a mortgage that is equal to or less than your rent, then you are basically paying yourself every month. Costs will continue to rise and with 100k down payment and your DHs being a realtor, you should be able to find a deal. I am thrilled you are close to the end of the car payment, which can funnel intp 401k or a 529 when it is done.

Make a 5 year plan and stick to it. My dh and I were the PhDs upthread and we paid off all our debt except for our student loans and mortgage. Take it one step at a time and don't beat yourself up. You have done the best you could with the resources at hand.

This is me if helpful and one of the ones who said I recently started using YNAB:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/1128137.page

We bought our house in 2013 for $615K because we prefer not being house poor. I like to do other things like travel.

I really like the YNAB way - what are your priorities? Whatever they are - focus your money on those things. Watch how you’re spending your money and only spend on things you like instead of wasting on things you don’t like.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we had student loans from DH's law degree we bought a cheap townhouse in a gentrifying area, and we didn't have any car or consumer loans. We drove an old sedan until the student debt was paid off.

750k is insane. Look for a condo or townhouse where your PITI costs are as close to rent as possible.

Agree that trying to reduce expenses with that much in loans is really important. $722 for a car lease sounds high, but I don't know when OP and her husband got their lease and if interest rates were already high. It would be a shame if they were driving around in a BMW and not paying off loans/funding retirement/funding 529s.

Op here: it’s not a bmw, it’s a Toyota and we bought in 2021 because our 14 year old Camry ran into the ground.

WTH?!?! why are you paying $722/month on a Toyota. You have a family of 4. Another Camry would work just fine or a Rav4. You do not need/cannot afford a Highlander or more expensive at this point. And why lease? Buy a $35K vehicle and pay it off in 3 years then drive it into the ground for the next 10. You can't really afford to live the fancy life until you pay off your student loans. Do that and you will be financially sound.

Op here: you obviously aren’t in the car market at all. And I never said it’s a lease…I bought a Toyota Avalon car for $40k when the market was crazy because I needed a car and my 14 yr old Camry died.

But, clearly you couldn't afford a $40K car. Where is all your money going if you aren't paying off your loans/debt? How much is your rent.

You need to buy a cheap crummy house like the rest of us and focus on paying off that debt, regular savings and college savings.

Op here: my rent is $2,800. Utilities are $300. All monthly expenses are $4k

Then I personally would aim to spend that much on a mortgage every month if you buy a house. I personally wouldn’t spend more.

You are bankrupt and want to take more debt?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we had student loans from DH's law degree we bought a cheap townhouse in a gentrifying area, and we didn't have any car or consumer loans. We drove an old sedan until the student debt was paid off.

750k is insane. Look for a condo or townhouse where your PITI costs are as close to rent as possible.

Agree that trying to reduce expenses with that much in loans is really important. $722 for a car lease sounds high, but I don't know when OP and her husband got their lease and if interest rates were already high. It would be a shame if they were driving around in a BMW and not paying off loans/funding retirement/funding 529s.

Op here: it’s not a bmw, it’s a Toyota and we bought in 2021 because our 14 year old Camry ran into the ground.

WTH?!?! why are you paying $722/month on a Toyota. You have a family of 4. Another Camry would work just fine or a Rav4. You do not need/cannot afford a Highlander or more expensive at this point. And why lease? Buy a $35K vehicle and pay it off in 3 years then drive it into the ground for the next 10. You can't really afford to live the fancy life until you pay off your student loans. Do that and you will be financially sound.

Op here: you obviously aren’t in the car market at all. And I never said it’s a lease…I bought a Toyota Avalon car for $40k when the market was crazy because I needed a car and my 14 yr old Camry died.

But, clearly you couldn't afford a $40K car. Where is all your money going if you aren't paying off your loans/debt? How much is your rent.

You need to buy a cheap crummy house like the rest of us and focus on paying off that debt, regular savings and college savings.

+1 OP you need to answer some of the reasonable questions if you want advice. Post a real budget. Is your SAHP planning to return to work, and what will that look like (timeline, potential income)? How much longer on the car loan, how much longer until the youngest can be in free school (PK3 in DC, K in the burbs)? What will your student loan payments be when they resume, what are your interest rates?

You're only responding to the comments you can smack down but you're ignoring the people that need more information to answer your question. At first it felt somewhat reasonable (how many people can ask "how can a lady be a lawyer?" before you type an angry reply) but now it feels trollish.

Op here: 3 years left on the car loan. Car loan interest rate is 3%. Student loan interest rate is 6%. DH is a real estate agent so he only make money if he has a deal. He will be grinding more when our baby goes to Kindergarten in 4 years. I don’t rely on his income and don’t plan my life around it because it’s commission based and hard to determine some years it’s $40k some years it’s $100k the highest ever was $130k.

Here is a budget breakdown:
-$722 car note
-2800 rent
-$300 utilities
- $115 Verizon internet
$200 cellphones
- $280 car insurance
$900 health insurance.

. If you haven’t used your DH’s income to pay down your debt or just save, you are relying on it. I suggest that you take half of the post tax proceeds on DH’s commission and use it to pay down the debt fast - use the other half to save for college/more retirement. If you had been doing this for the past 5 years you would be more than halfway there and in a much better place to buy a house. If you get any bonuses do the same. Plus, pay off some with your $300k budget.

So, hunker down where you are and start getting that debt down.

You need to get a handle on your spending. So, get Quicken or ‘You Need a Budget’ or David Ramsey or whatever and input your spending for the past year. Your above expenses total $5,317 but you haven’t included food, fun, clothing, vacation …..

You should be able to do quite well on a spending budget of $8k a month post tax. Continue with your retirement deposits of $30k a year (although with a minimum income of $400k they should be much higher). Then report back in a year and tell us how you did.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:HHI - $300k
Student debt - $250k
Car debt and other debt -$50k
Retirement fund, IRAs and 401k balance- $170k
Monthly fixed expenses: $4k

Why does everyone complicate this so much? There is a tried and tested 28/36 guideline on home affordability. Let’s just apply that….

Baseline PITI = 28% x (HHI/12) = $7K

With a 30 year mortgage at 7.25%, this works out to be a roughly $870K maximum mortgage, assuming $1000 per month for HOA, insurance, and property taxes.

Unfortunately, you have student loan debt and this must be subtracted from your mortgage allocation: $870K - $250K = $620K

Therefore, the largest mortgage you can afford to take is 30 year $620K @ 7.25%. Assuming you put 20% down, the maximum house you can afford is $620K / 80% = $775K with a $155K down payment.

This will stick you with a monthly PITI of just over $5K, leaving you with maybe $10K net per month to cover your car, student loans, and other expenses.

I think this is probably a decent estimate. Once OP and her husband make more money in a few years and the baby goes to kinder, they can buy a nicer house.

Anonymous wrote:HHI - $300k
Student debt - $250k
Car debt and other debt -$50k
Retirement fund, IRAs and 401k balance- $170k
Monthly fixed expenses: $4k

Net worth including house worth??

Anonymous wrote:HHI - $300k
Student debt - $250k
Car debt and other debt -$50k
Retirement fund, IRAs and 401k balance- $170k
Monthly fixed expenses: $4k

Why does everyone complicate this so much? There is a tried and tested 28/36 guideline on home affordability. Let’s just apply that….

Baseline PITI = 28% x (HHI/12) = $7K

With a 30 year mortgage at 7.25%, this works out to be a roughly $870K maximum mortgage, assuming $1000 per month for HOA, insurance, and property taxes.

Unfortunately, you have student loan debt and this must be subtracted from your mortgage allocation: $870K - $250K = $620K

Therefore, the largest mortgage you can afford to take is 30 year $620K @ 7.25%. Assuming you put 20% down, the maximum house you can afford is $620K / 80% = $775K with a $155K down payment.

This will stick you with a monthly PITI of just over $5K, leaving you with maybe $10K net per month to cover your car, student loans, and other expenses.

Don’t go deeper into that debt hole op. Dig yourselves out. It’s really stressful on a marriage to be so stretched…
1. Trade down your car
2. Move to a larger condo in north Rockville for max 500k or an exurb with good schools
3. Go work for the fed and get started in pslf in ten years

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we had student loans from DH's law degree we bought a cheap townhouse in a gentrifying area, and we didn't have any car or consumer loans. We drove an old sedan until the student debt was paid off.

750k is insane. Look for a condo or townhouse where your PITI costs are as close to rent as possible.

Agree that trying to reduce expenses with that much in loans is really important. $722 for a car lease sounds high, but I don't know when OP and her husband got their lease and if interest rates were already high. It would be a shame if they were driving around in a BMW and not paying off loans/funding retirement/funding 529s.

Op here: it’s not a bmw, it’s a Toyota and we bought in 2021 because our 14 year old Camry ran into the ground.

WTH?!?! why are you paying $722/month on a Toyota. You have a family of 4. Another Camry would work just fine or a Rav4. You do not need/cannot afford a Highlander or more expensive at this point. And why lease? Buy a $35K vehicle and pay it off in 3 years then drive it into the ground for the next 10. You can't really afford to live the fancy life until you pay off your student loans. Do that and you will be financially sound.

Op here: you obviously aren’t in the car market at all. And I never said it’s a lease…I bought a Toyota Avalon car for $40k when the market was crazy because I needed a car and my 14 yr old Camry died.

But, clearly you couldn't afford a $40K car. Where is all your money going if you aren't paying off your loans/debt? How much is your rent.

You need to buy a cheap crummy house like the rest of us and focus on paying off that debt, regular savings and college savings.

+1 OP you need to answer some of the reasonable questions if you want advice. Post a real budget. Is your SAHP planning to return to work, and what will that look like (timeline, potential income)? How much longer on the car loan, how much longer until the youngest can be in free school (PK3 in DC, K in the burbs)? What will your student loan payments be when they resume, what are your interest rates?

You're only responding to the comments you can smack down but you're ignoring the people that need more information to answer your question. At first it felt somewhat reasonable (how many people can ask "how can a lady be a lawyer?" before you type an angry reply) but now it feels trollish.

Op here: 3 years left on the car loan. Car loan interest rate is 3%. Student loan interest rate is 6%. DH is a real estate agent so he only make money if he has a deal. He will be grinding more when our baby goes to Kindergarten in 4 years. I don’t rely on his income and don’t plan my life around it because it’s commission based and hard to determine some years it’s $40k some years it’s $100k the highest ever was $130k.

Here is a budget breakdown:
-$722 car note
-2800 rent
-$300 utilities
- $115 Verizon internet
$200 cellphones
- $280 car insurance
$900 health insurance.

You don't eat?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When we had student loans from DH's law degree we bought a cheap townhouse in a gentrifying area, and we didn't have any car or consumer loans. We drove an old sedan until the student debt was paid off.

750k is insane. Look for a condo or townhouse where your PITI costs are as close to rent as possible.

Agree that trying to reduce expenses with that much in loans is really important. $722 for a car lease sounds high, but I don't know when OP and her husband got their lease and if interest rates were already high. It would be a shame if they were driving around in a BMW and not paying off loans/funding retirement/funding 529s.

Op here: it’s not a bmw, it’s a Toyota and we bought in 2021 because our 14 year old Camry ran into the ground.

WTH?!?! why are you paying $722/month on a Toyota. You have a family of 4. Another Camry would work just fine or a Rav4. You do not need/cannot afford a Highlander or more expensive at this point. And why lease? Buy a $35K vehicle and pay it off in 3 years then drive it into the ground for the next 10. You can't really afford to live the fancy life until you pay off your student loans. Do that and you will be financially sound.

Op here: you obviously aren’t in the car market at all. And I never said it’s a lease…I bought a Toyota Avalon car for $40k when the market was crazy because I needed a car and my 14 yr old Camry died.

But, clearly you couldn't afford a $40K car. Where is all your money going if you aren't paying off your loans/debt? How much is your rent.

You need to buy a cheap crummy house like the rest of us and focus on paying off that debt, regular savings and college savings.

Op here: my rent is $2,800. Utilities are $300. All monthly expenses are $4k

I don't get your math - $2800 rent + $300 utilities + $722 car = $3822 a month. You spend $188 a month on food for four, gas, cell phone, clothes, toys for your kids, internet, tv, toiletries, etc.?